Reminiscing at 52

By Kate Henshaw
Another independence day is here. Nigeria is 52 years old. So far,can we say truthfully that we are happy where we are?

I think not. October 1, 2012, will just be another holiday for most people who are at a loss at the way forward.

It will be full of broadcasts, congratulatory messages in the newspapers( the purpose of which, leaves me speechless), more promises for a brighter tomorrow, literally, seeing that PHCN has been unbundled by the bids won for five power plants.

Will there come a day we will no longer hear the head-pounding sounds of generators in our nation? I dare not hold my breath.

How many of us still remember the song that was released when we turned 25years old as a nation? It goes this way” Nigeria is 25, the odds we did survive, arise salute the nation, come join the celebration,a people united can never fall, the sun will shine and the rain will fall, on our land, vast and mighty, richly blessed by the Almighty…”.

This does not however ring true at the moment; the chances of us as a nation surviving the odds this time around is greatly reduced.

Our unity is threatened, and in question with the dreaded sect unleashing mayhem, having done away with countless lives and property; kidnappers, armed robbers and rapists are having a field day, and the punishments meted out are not commensurate with the crimes committed.

Despite the natural resources we are blessed with, we are yet to adorn the apparel befitting of our status. We dress in rags while our gold lies buried beneathourfeet.

I have come to the conclusion that there is so much money in this country, and daily it is frittered away.

The rich get richer and the poor die. Everyday, one reads about our so called present or past public officials who are facing various counts of corruption charges but the monies are never recovered from them and put to good use.

Indeed, we do pay lip service to the much touted fight against corruption.

Take for instance, the foreigner implicated in the Haliburton case who has faced prosecution in his country while his counterparts here in Nigeria roam free living the life; a former governor of a northern state who jumped bail in the Uk as reported by the BBC but is a sitting senator in this present administration or the Farouk Lawan and Femi Otedola bribery debacle.

Has the money been recovered? Has anyone been prosecuted? What about this much touted video evidence that apparently brought Lawan down from his committee? Anyone seen it? Always the questions are numerous and the answers we seek, few and far-fetched. .

We are slowly descending down a tunnel at the end of which there is no light. Our morals are out the door, our sense of responsibility as citizens of this nation is nothing to write home about.

We drive with reckless abandon, we have no maintenance culture,we do not obey laws because even the law makers have compromised their positions of authority; our humanity and sense of pride is in question. Who is to blame? Who do I point the accusing finger at— you reading and me, the writer?

Everyone who has sat back and done nothing when this rot slowly crept on us,everyone who has looked the other way while injustice was done, everyone who has looked out for his or her own personal gain rather than the greater good of all, everyone who has maintained a lukewarm attitude to the steady deterioration of our hospitals, schools, roads, security and social welfare.
As long as we have officials, leaders in various tiers of government who they or their wards can travel out of this country to seek treatment or education, ours will NEVER be developed.

Charity begins at home,and if we don’t take ourselves seriously and turn this nation around for good, no one will. Hopefully it will not take another 52 years, We Pray O Lord.